Paper feeder



June 29, 1937. M. B. Busi-INEM.

PAPER FEEDER Filed March 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 mm2 mm\ ,mw

Nw www 3 /UJ @WMIIQ mom O N June29, 1937. M. B. BUSHNELI.

PAPER FEEDER 4 Sheets-Shea?I 2 Filed March 25, 1956 .0N O O QN\ o Nm. /\.m/ n EN G n lmN NN o o 9v mm fw@ O f M @mi \mm.m,w\. O o O r o o O o O. o O o Q o lll, O 1 l l l Nv|.H//f\\/// O O O u WN ITW: n ITW Q@ V www@ f June 29, 1937. M, B BUSHNE'LL 2,085,144

PAPER FEEDER y Filed March 25, 1956 4 SheetS-SheetI 3 @y www June 29, 1937. M. B. BUsHNELL PAPER FEEDER Filed March 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 J mv m B. V m l \m: NS maud Se L mmw 1 m. b S l i m-\\\ @L /QQ v /m r IE t /MN @$15 NIS Attorneys Patented June 29, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 20 Claims.

My invention relates to an under feed type of paper feeder in which sheets of paper are fed from the bottom of the stack somewhat in the manner set forth in my Patent 1,876,606 for Paper feeder patented September 13, 1932. In

the paper feeder of the present machine an endless chain of vacuum feeding rollers is operated with its upper run rolling underneath and supporting a stack of paper, the lower run of the rollers being a return path. In the prior machine the rollers were provided with suction ports or perforations and as each roller is connected to a vacuum system at the proper time a suction is developed by a roller to give a downward pull to the lower sheet of the stack in which it is in rolling contact. In the machine of my patent, the sheets of paper drawn downwardly between the successive rollers are supported by a plate located between the upper and lower run of the rollers. Each sheet in succession is then fed outwardly by fast moving feed rollers which in effect snatch a sheet off of the supporting plate between two of the suction rollers where such rollers pass or have a reverse turn from the upper gy, to the lower run of the chain of rollers.

An object and feature of my present invention is in using an endless chain of suction rollers with the upper run of the rollers supporting the stack of paper, and in which each roller in succession by suction diverts the lowermost sheet downwardly, but in my present construction the end of the sheet diverted downwardly is supported and engaged by an endless belt which is located between the upper and lower runs of the chain of suction rollers, and such belt has its upper run moving as to the main portion in the same direction as the upper run of the suction rollers.

For convenience of description, the edge of the sheet which is sped forward rapidly by the 4c feeding rollers is designated as the leading or forward edge of the sheet, whereas the opposite edge is designated as the trailing or rear edge of the sheet. In both the patent and the present construction the trailing edge of the sheet is the 43 first portion diverted downwardly by the suction rollers, but a characteristic of my present invention is that this trailing edge of the lowermost sheet is gripped between a suction roller and a portion of the upper run of the belt, giving such 5o trailing edge a po-sitive downward diversion or pull. As the suction roller edge has diverted, the lowermost sheet travels forwardly and the trailing edge of the sheet is caught and supported by the upper run of the endless belt and carried 55 by mere contact towards the out-feeding end of the machine. A characteristic therefore of this type of feed is that as the sheets are diverted downwardly, one by each of the suction rollers as it rolls under the stack, the trailing edge of each sheet is carried forward by contact with the 5 upper run of the supporting belt. This action develops a type of loose reverse fold of each sheet, the loosely folded sheets overlapping and having but little frictional contact one with the other, thus enabling a more rapid feed than in l0 the machine of the patent.

Another improvement of my present machine is in the employment of a rubber covered ejection roller located below the rollers supporting the stack of paper in close proximity to the posil5 tion of a reverse turn from the upper to the lower run of such rollers. This roller engages each sheet as it is completely removed from the bottom of the stack and quickly ejects the leading end of the sheet to two high speed pulling rolls 20 which operate to pull the separated sheets one after the other upwardly from the machine transferring them to a conveyor which may lead to an envelope or other machine for using the individual sheets of paper. 25

A further improvement resides in the regulation of the speed of the pulling rolls tor feed each sheet of paper separately or to have the papers overlapped any desired amount. These feed rollers in effect snatch the sheets between two ad- 30 jacent suction rolls as they pass from the upper to the lower run of such rolls.

Another improvement in my present invention resides in the vacuum air control and air valve. In my present construction the hollow suction rolls which have apertures or ports to conduct the bottom sheet of paper, have at their ends a. radial port which is brought into engagement with the rotatable air box. This has curved notches of the configuration of the rolls to be engaged by the rolls and rotated by the rolls of the upper run, such box being 'mounted to have a light up and down motion. The box at each partially circular groove has an air recess and an air duct leading to a snap action valve which ,15 is made in the form of a cage with radial air ports which come into and out of registry with the air port cr duct in a stationary pipe.

A further object and feature of my invention is developing a snap action movement with the ports in the air valve cage. 'I'his is accomplished by employing a star type of cam wheel which, by means of a loose connection with the rotating air box such as a pin and slot connection, is positively rotated until the pressure rollers, pulled together by a tension spring, are raised to the points of the star, then the spring causes the rolls to ride downwardly on each star point and give the star a quick forward rotational movement. As the star is connected to the cage valve, such valve develops quick partial rotations with intermittent pauses and thus establishes a communication from the air supply pipe through the cage valve and the ducts of the air box to the exact ports of the rollers at the proper time, and maintains the vacuum connection through one roller at a time while it is starting the separation of the lowermost sheet of paper fro-m the stack at the trailing end of such sheet.

My invention is illustrated in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine of the present application taken in the direction of the arrow I of Figure 8;

Figure 2 is a Vertical longitudinal section through the center of the machine on the section lines 2 2 of Figure 4 or 5 taken in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 3 is a diagram, being a section similar to a portion of Figure 2, indicating the movement of the separated sheets of paper;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line 4 4 of Figure 2 in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section on the line 5-5 of Figure 2 in the direction of the aIIOWS;

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the air box, the star cam and associated parts as if taken in the direction of the arrow 6V of Figure '7 Figure '7 is a side elevation of Figure 6 taken in the direction of the arrow 'I showing the detail of the rollers and spring for developing the snap Yaction of the star cam;

Figure 8 is a plan taken in the direction of the arrow 8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a vertical longitudinal sectional detail on the line 9-9 of Figure 8 in the direction of the arrows, illustrating the cage air Valve, the air box and suction rollers in contact therewith.

Figure 10 is a vertical section of the air box and valve on the section, line I-I Il, Figure 9. Figure 11" is a perspective View of the cage box.

In order to set forth the details of the movement developed in the sheets of paper, the construction is first described in reference to Figure 3. In this drawing an operation of the endless chain of suction rollers is indicated at I I, this showing only the upper run portion I2 and part of the reverse turn I3 of the endless chain as the rollers move from the upper to the lower run. These rollers travel in the direction of the arrow Ill.l A stack of paper I5 is held and supported by these rollers, which rollers are free to rotate and thus turn on their axes in the direction of the arrow I6 as each roller passes underneath the stack of paper supported by a multiple number of suction rollers. Each roller has a hollow center I-I and one or more suction ducts I8 extending radially from the hollow center and preferably having a flared mouth` I9 to contact a sheet of paper. In describing the invention, the end of the stack I5 toward which the individual sheets are fed isdesignated theleading or forward end as to each sheet, and is indicated by the numeral 20. The trailing or rear end is designated by the numeral 2 I.

An endless carrier belt 25 is supported and operates inside of the conveyor chains carrying the suction rollers. This conveyor passes over a pulley-like drum 26 mounted on a shaft 2l. There are two reverse turn rollers 28 and 29 suitably supported on their shafts 39 on the sides of the machine. A reverse turn roller 3I has its axle 32 journaled in the side framesvof the machine and is contiguous to the location of the reverse turn of the suction rollers from their upper to their lower run. The endless conveyor belt 25 therefore has an upper run 33 in which there is a top section 34 extending from the drum 26 to the upper reverse roller 28. rf'his is positioned to contact the periphery of the suction rollers and has a forward movement in the direction of the arrow 35 at preferably the same peripheral speed as the surface of the suction rollers. A reverse turn section 36 of the belt passes over the pulleys or rollers 28 and 2% and has a lower section 3T of the upper run. This preferably has a slightly downward slope between the idler pulley 28 and the reverse turn pulley 3|. This section 31 of the endless conveyor belt is thus a considerable distance below the bottom of the suction rollers.

The action of the suction roller as shown in Figure 3 is substantially as follows: At the proper time and by the air valve mechanism hereinafter described, as the roller a comes underneath the trailing edge of the sheets formed into the stack, suction is exerted causing the paper to close the mouth I9 of the ducts I8. This causes the paper to be wound on the roller as it passes to the position indicated at b, the suction adhering it to the roller as indicated at c. This brings the trailing end 2i of the individual sheet between the roller edges in position b and the upper portion 3d of the endless belt approximately over the idler pulley 28. The combined action causes the trailing edge 2| of each sheet to be carried for- Ward of the idler pulleys 28 and 29. As soon as the trailing end of each sheet is carried downwardly by the roller with which it is in contact a sufficient distance, and thus into engagement with the portion 3l!- of the endless belt, the air suction is cut off from such particular roller. Thus the trailing end of the lowermost sheet is loosened from the roller and drops into the posi- In the continued movement of the suction rollers and the endless belt 25, a series of loops indicated at f are formed in each shee't of paper and these sheets havea slight over-lap as indicated at g where they rest loosely on the section 3l of the upper run of the belt 25.

As the last suction roller h which is underneath the stack of paper leaves this stack in making the reverse turn portion of its travel at I3, the lowermost sheet is lowered adjacent its leading edge until it contacts an ejection roller 50. This ejection roller is rubber covered, and is positioned so that its periphery is in contact with each of the suction rollers as they pass over the ejection roller. This ejection roller is driven in rotation in the direction of the arrow 4I by 1 of each lowermost sheet as it is separated from the stack and exert a pull on the sheet which is loosely loopedbetween the upper run of the suction rollers and the section 31 of the endless belt. Thus the sheets may be quickly and one at a time fed out of the machine. If desired, the peripheral speed of the pulling rollers 45 may be adjusted so that the sheets may be fed or removed one at a time and spaced apart, or by a slower peripheral speed. of these pulling rollers, the sheets may be caused to have an overlap. This overlap is desirable for using in feeding certain machines, such as envelope machines.

In order to form a positive stop for the controlling end of the separated sheets carried forward by the lower section 31 of the endless belt, I employ a pair of hook arms 50 which have a loop caught over a shaft 52 and a finger end 53. It will be noted by Figures 4 and 5 that the endless belt is narrower than the length of the suction rollers, and therefore the hooks when placed ad jacent the side edges of the endless belt catch the under folded trailing end of eachA sheet and restrict the movement preventing such loose end from being fed.

A suitable method of setting up or assembling the mechanism so far described is as follows: Having reference particularly to Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5, a machine frame designated generally by the assembly numeral 68 has two opposite side plates 6| with a longitudinal rectangular opening 52. The shaft 21 has reduced ends 63 (note Figure 4) to which are attached hubs E9. These hubs operate in antifriction bearing 65, the outer race 85 of which is fitted in an opening 91 in each of the side plates 6I.

The shaft 52 may have a similar mounting. As above mentioned, the pulley 26 is secured to the shaft 21. Both the shafts 21 and 52 carry sprocket wheels 69 and 69. Either one of these shafts may be positively driven. Preferably the shaft 52 and these sprocket gears operate the inner pair of sprocket chains 1I), such chains being similar. The upper run 1| of the sprocket chains is supported on an angle track 12 attached to the side plates 6I. The lower run 13 is covered by an angle track 14 (note Figure 5). These tracks terminate adjacent the sprocket wheels 68 and 69. A stationary but adjustable sprocket rack 15 has an upper lead 16 and a lower lead 11. The lower lead rests on an angle bracket 18 on each side also secured to the side plate 6I. The upper lead 15 is confined by a similar angle bracket 19. Adjusting sprocket wheels 89 (note Figure 2) are mounted on a transverse shaft 8| which may be journaled in the upper portion of the side plate 6I, and by rotation of the sprockets, the rack chains may be slightly adjustable either in th'e direction of feed of the rollers or in the reverse direction, this being for the purpose of locating the ports of the rollers to come into registry with the paper at the proper time. Otherwise the two outer sets of chains are stationary during the operation of the machine. The detail construction of the suction rollers each of which is designated by the assembly numeral 85, includes a central tubular portion 89, and an end portion 81 with the air suction ports 88 formed therein opposite end sections 89, a cover sleeve 99, assemblingthe various sections to form the complete operating part of the roller. Each roller has reduced ends 9| to which is secured a hub 92, which hub has a sprocket gear 93 formed integrally therein, and has an antifriction bearing 9d adjacent its outer end, each bearing having an outer race 95. These outer races operate on tracks 9S on the upper angle tracks 12 and at the ends adjacent the sprocket wheels 68 and 99 are guided in a groove 91, such groove being formed in a block 98 attached to the inside of each of the side plates 6|. The groove is concentric with the axis of the shafts 21 and 52, respectively. On the lower guide bracket 68 the outer race of these bearings operates on a track 99. The sprockets 93 thus mesh with the driven sprocket chain 'II on the inside and with the stationary sprocket rack 15 on the outside. Therefore as the inside pair of chains are positively driven, the suction rollers are moved in a forward direction, this being indicated by the arrow I4 of Figure 3, and are also given a rotation on their axes, the rotation being at such speed that each of the rollers rolls underneath the stack of paper and thus has a rolling contact with the lowermost sheet presented to such roller in its travel in the upper run of the endless chain of suction rollers.

The air control or vacuum mechanism employs an assembly |95 (note particularly Figures 1 and 6 through 8). This employs an air suction pipe |96 which is supported by a pair of arms |91 (note Figure 1), which arms are pivoted at |98 on a bracket |99 attached to the frame of the machine, such bracket being preferably attached to one of the side plates 6I. The pipe is secured against rotation in the arms, and has a downwardly facing port |I0. The hose or other suitable air suction device is connected to the pipe |99 in order to create a vacuum therein. A cage valve I I has a portion thereof rotatably mounted on the pipe, and another portion connected to a ring I2 surrounding the pipe and integrally connected with the ring there is a star type of cam I I3. The star and the cage type of valve are thus rotatably mounted on the pipe |99. 'Ihe cage valve has radial ports II4, each port extending a considerable distance around the circumference of the cage part of the valve compared with the solid rib sections I I5 between the ports. The surfaces I I 8 of the ribs are radial, and in operation may align with the sides of the port or passage I I9 of the fixed. pipe.

Rotatably mounted on the valve cage is a rotatable air box |29, this having a cylindrical eenter opening |2| rotating on the outside of the ribs ||5 of the valve cage, and a cylindrical portion adjacent thereto. This air box has a cylindrical outside surface |22 except for the sectional convexly curved portions |23 which are the same curvature as the outside surface of the section 81 of the suction rollers adjacent the ports 88, such ports being illustrated in Figure 9 in section. The suction space |24 is formed immediately inside of the concave surfaces |23, and a suction air duct |25 leads from each suction space to the center of the air box to form communication with the suction ports II4. The assembly of the air box, the cage valve and the pipe |96 has a slight up and down movement due to the pivoting of the arm |91 on the pivot |98. This takes care of the motion due to the rollers engaging underneath the air box in the concave sections, and as the upper run of the rollers have a forward movement in the direction of the arrow I4 as each roller passes under the axis of the pipe |96 it gives a slight lift to the above mentioned assembly. The air box is given a substantially constant speed rotation in the direction of the arrow |29 (note Figure '7) due to the continuous movement of the suction rollers.

A loose connection is formed between the air CLI box and the ring H2 forming part of the cage air valve by preferably providing a pin |30 on the air box engaging inan arcuate slot I3| formed in the ring ||2. This allows aslight relativemovement between the air box, the ring and hence the star cam i3, and the ports of the cage valve The star cam I3 is actuated intermittently by rollers |32 and |33 mounted on the ends of lower and upper arms |34 and |35. These arms are pivoted at opposite ends of the plate |33,

which is secured by a bolt or the like I3? to the arm |01. A tension spring |38 connects the upper and lower arms, being under a tension to pull the rollers |32 and |33 inwardly. Arms are guided by a guide bar |33 attached by a bolt |40 to one of the arms |01, such bar having oifset section 4 The star cam has a series of straight liney riser surfaces |42, and slightly convexed drop surfaces |43. The concave curve |44 at the base or inner part of the stars forms a slight pause portion in the operation.

The operation of the star wheel is as follows: As above mentioned, there is a loose connection by the pin and slot |30 and |3| with the air box |20 which is substantially rotated at a constant speed and in the 'direction of the arrow |26 Vso that the pin when it engages the end |45 of the slot positively drives the star cam in the direction of the arrow |26. This is in the portion of the travel when the rollers |32 and |33 ride on the lift o1 riser section |42 of the star cam, bringing these to two opposite points |46 on the star. The spring |38 due to its tension then exerts an inward pull, causing the rollers |32 and |33 each to ride on one of the drop sections |43 of the star cam and quickly force the cam ahead faster than the speed of the air box. This shifts the relative position of the pin |30 and the slot |3|, bringing the rear end |4l of the slot adjacent the pin |30. At the end of this movement each of the rollers ts in the concave depressed sections |44 of the lstar cam, the two points being diametrically opposite on this cam. The air box continues its rotation, but the star wheel and cage valve remain stationary until the pin has again engaged the end |45 of the slot, and rotated the star cam until the rollers |32 and |33 reach the apex, or points |46 of the star.

The operation of the valve and the suction connection is as follows, having reference particularly to Figures l, 2, 3, 9 and 10:

As above mentioned, the air suction pipe |06 is held from rotation. A convenient construction having an elbow |50 is connected 'to the outel` end of this pipe. An inner end |52 has an enlarged head which bears against one of the arms |01, which forms the mounting for the air box and the valve assembly. A pipe |53 is connected to the elbow, preferably extending towards the pivot |08` on the bracket |00. An air suction hose is connected to the pipe |53 so that such pipe is always subjected to a suction.

As the air box |20 has a relatively slow continuous rotation, and the star cam H3 with the cage valve has an intermittent rotation in the same direction, the suction connection is made through the air box air ducts only, through the two ducts which are in the lowermost position, as shown in Figure 9. In this figure, the air connection leads to the suction port 88 of one of the suction rollers when such roller is in the position b, as shown in Figure 3, and is on the point of cutting oif the suction. The shift of the cage valve |06 in the forward direction by means of the star cam causes the lowermost rib to move past the port |0, and. thus vmakes a connection through the lower left-hand radial port ||5. The air duct |25, the suction space |24 to the port 88 of the roller changes in the position a. on Figure 3. Thus there is a suction through this roller when in this position to its suction duct I8, having a flaring mouth I9 in contact to the lowermost sheet of paper adjacent or near edge 2|, as. shown in Figures 2 and 3. The suction is continued substantially yuntil the roller is in the position "b on Figure 3, when the vacuum is broken'in order to make a vacuum connection to the next roller coming into the position a. It will be seen, therefore, that by this lconstruction the vacuum connection giving a suction on the paper is only maintained for a relatively short time, this, however, being suicient to draw the trailing end of the lowermost sheet of the stack so that it engages the upper run of the endless belt 33.

In order to support the upper part or lead i6 of the adjustable sprocket chain rack l5, I employ a stiff metal wire or rod |55 which iits underneath the links of the upper lead of these sprocket chains (note Figures 4 and 5), the wire or rod is bent to follow the curvature of the outer chain at opposite ends of the machine and has its lower portion |56 passing slightly inwardly of a vertical line through the axis of the main sprocket wheels. There is a wire supporting rod at each side that is for each of the chains 'l5 and thus prevents sagging of the chains between adjacent suction rollers. This prevention of the sagging is particularly advisable at the curved ends in order to hold the chain upwardly to contact with the two sprocket gears` 80.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A paper feeder for under-feeding sheets from a stack of sheet paper comprising means to separate the lowermost sheet from the stack adjacent one edge, a moving device to engage said edge and move the separated edge in a general direction toward the remote edge of the paper, and an out-'feeding means acting i'lrst on the said remote edge to remove the separated lower-most sheet of the stack.

2. A paper feeder for removing the lower-most sheet from a stack of paper, means to engage the lower-most sheet adjacent a trailing edge and to separate the trailing edge from the stack, a movable conveyor ypositioned below the stack to engage the trailing edge portion of the lower-most sheet and to convey a portion of the sheet towards a leading edge, an out-feeding means to engage the lower-most sheet of the stack after separation therefrom adjacent its leading edge and remove such sheet with the leading edge foremost, thereby removing the trailing edge of such sheet from the conveyor.

3. A paper feeder for feeding paper from the bottom of a stack of sheet paper in which one edge of each sheet is defined as a trailing edge and the opposite edge as a leading edge, means operating in succession to separate the trailing edges of a plurality of sheets in a sequence from the bottom of the stack, and with a continuing movement separating each sheet proceeding from the trailing toward the leading edge, a movable conveyor positioned below the rst sheet separating means and operative to engage the trailing edges of each sheet as it is separated from the stack and move such edge in the general direction toward the leading edge of the sheet While such leading edge is still oonned in the stack, an outfeeding means positioned to engage the leading edge of each sheet as it is separated from the Stack and to remove each sheet in the same sequence as the sheets are separated from the stack with-the leading edge of each sheet leading the trailing edge of the same sheet.

4. A paper feeder as described in claim 3, the rst sheet separating means comprising a plurality of suction rollers moving underneath the stack, the conveyor having an upper portion positioned to grip the trailing edge of a sheet between such conveyor and a suction roller, and said conveyor having a second portion engaging and feeding the trailing edges of a plurality of sheets to form a loose overlap of said sheets.

5. A paper feeder as described in claim 3, the rst sheet separating means comprising a plurality of suction rollers, means to roll said rollers underneath the stack from the trailing toward the leading edge of the sheets, the said rollers supporting the stack, the Conveyor comprising an endless belt having an upper run moving in the general direction of the rollers, such upper run having a rst upper portion engaging the trailing end of each sheet in succession between the upper part of the upper run of the belt and each suction roller in succession, the upper run of the belt having a lower portion loosely supporting the trailing ends of a succession of sheets and operative with the moving suction rollers to form a loose fold of the partly separated sheets.

6. A paper feeder comprising in combination means to support a stack of sheet paper, means toremove a series of sheets simultaneously from the bottom of the stack, means to loosely convey portions of said sheets in an overlapping manner in one direction and an out-feeding means engaging each sheet in succession and feeding each separated sheet away from the stack and away from the conveying means.

7. A paper feeding means for removing sheets from one side of a stack of paper comprising in combination an endless chain of suction rollers, means to move a plurality of said rollers at a time in contact with the sheets on one side of the stack, a timing means for developing a suction through each roller as it contacts a sheet adjacent one edge of such sheet and separates a portion of such sheet by suction from the stack, a moving conveyor positioned to engage the separated end of each sheet in succession as the sheets are successively removed from the stack, and an outfeeding means for removing the sheets from the conveyor in the same sequence in which they are removed from the stack and engaged by the conveyor.

8. A paper feeder as described in claim 7, the conveyor having a first moving means to engage the separated end of each sheet as such sheet is removed by succession from` the stack, the suction timing means being operative to cut off the suction when the end of a sheet is engaged by the conveyor, the conveyor having a second moving portion engaging the separated ends of a plurality of sheets and in conjunction with the suction rollers developing a loose fold of the she-ets.

9. A paper feeding means as described in claim 7, the suction timing means comprising a nonrotatable suction pipe having a i'irst port, a valve rotatively mounted on said pipe, and having a series of second ports, an air box rotatively mounted on the valve and having air passages for connection with suction ports of the rollers, the air box having means to engage the rollers and to be rotated by said rollers in their movement across the stack of paper, and means in part interconnecting the air box and the valve to intermittently rotate the valve.

l0. A paper feeding means for removing sheets from one side of a stack of paper comprising in combination an endless chain of suction rollers having means to roll each of the rollers in succession in contact with a sheet on one side of the stack, each roller having a first suction port to form a suction contact with a sheet of paper and having a second exhaust port, a timing means operative with the exhaust port to create a suction through a roller when its suction port engages a sheet of paper adjacent one end and thereby confine a portion of such sheet to the periphery of such roller, a moving conveyor having a portion thereof positioned to engage each sheet in succession while in contact with the periphery of a roller, the said timing means being operative to release the suction and transfer the end of each sheet of paper disengaged from the stack and to the conveyor, the conveyor having a portion thereof for moving the separated ends of sheets being removed from the stack in the same general direction and an out-feeding means for removing the sheets from the conveyor.

1l. A paper feeder as described in claim 10, the suction timing means comprising a nonrotatable pipe having a suction port, a valve rotatively mounted on said pipe, and having a series of radial ports, an air box rotatively mounted on the valve and having a series of air ducts, means on the periphery of the air box to be engaged by each roller as it contacts the stack of paper to rotate the air box and form a communication through the ports of the pipe, the valve and the air ducts to the exhaust port of a suction roller in contact with the air box, an interconnecting means acting between the valve and the air box to rotate the valve part of a turn at the same speed as the air box, means to give the valve a partial quick rotation faster than the air box, means to retain the valve from rotation for a short period until the interconnecting means between the air box and the valve again moves the Valve.

12. A paper feeder comprising in combination a non-rotatable suction pipe having means for connection to a vacuum device. said pipe having a suction port, a valve having valve ports movably mounted on the pipe, an air box rotatably mounted on the valve and having air ducts, a plurality of suction rollers each having an exhaust port and a suction port, the latter ports being adapted to engage sheets of paper, means to move the suction rollers with a motion of translation and a rotating motion on their axes, means to interconnect each suction roller in its turn with the air box and thereby rotate such air box, whereby a suction air passage is formed from the exhaust port of a roller, the air ducts of the air box, the ports of the valve and the port of the pipe, and means to move the valve relative to the air box to change a port of the valve from registry with one duct of the air box to another duct as such air box is rotated.

13. A paper feeder as described in claim 12, the means to move the valve comprising a lost motion connection between the air box and the valve to rotate the valve at the same speed as the air box, a cam connected to the valve, a

spring actuated means operating on, the cam lto rotate the cam and hence the valve a partial turn at a higher angular velocity than the air box.

14. A paper feeder as described in claim 12, the means to move the valve comprising a lost motion connection between the valve and the air box whereby the air box rotates the valve for a portion of a turn at the same speed as the air box, a star shaped cam connected to the valve, pivoted arms having rollers bearing on the star cam, a spring drawing said rollers inwardly toward the axis of the star cam, the said rollers engaging the star cam at diametrically opposite points, the said cam having riser `surfaces for forcing the rollers to opposite points of the star cam, the star cam having drop surfaces on which the rolle-rs ride and rotate the cam, and hence the valve a partial turn at a higher speed of rotation than the air box.

15. In the method of feeding paper from one side of a stack of sheet paper, progressively and successively separating a series of sheets from one side of the stack developing a movement of the portion of each sheet as it is separated to a location for withdrawing the sheets and then withdrawing the sheets one after the other as they are completely separated from the stack.

16. In the method of feeding paper from one side of a stack. of sheet paper, successively separating a series of sheets from one side of the stack in a progressive manner, causing the sheets to overlap in a loose moving fold, and rapidly withdrawing the first sheet of the series when completely separated from the stack.

1'7. In the method of feeding paper from the bottom of a stack of sheet paper, exerting a suction on the lowermost sheet adjacent one edge to separate said sheet downwardly and in a progressive manner engaging the sheets next above by exerting a suction and separating in a progressive manner a series of sheets from the bottom of the stack, moving the separated edge portion of the partly separated sheets towards a withdrawing position.

18. In the method of feeding paper as claimed in claim 17, moving the separated ends of the several vsheets to form a loose folded overlap of the sheets then rapidly laterally withdrawing each sheet in succession as it is completely separated from the stack.

19. In the method of feeding paper from the bottom of a stack of sheet paper, successively separating a series o-f sheets from the bottom of the stack in a progressive manner, immediately after the separation of a lowermost sheet, moving the separated edge in the same direction as the sheets are being separated, thereby maintaining the portions of the sheets as they are separated in a loose arrangement, one in reference to the other and as such sheet is completely separated from the stack, withdrawing such sheet laterally from the` sheets which are only partly separated from the stack.

20. In the method of feeding paper from the bottom of a stack of sheet paper comprising by suction separating a portion of each sheet adjacent one edge of .the stack in a successive manner, whereby a plurality of sheets are partly separated from the stack from adjacent one edge before the lowermost sheet of the stack is completely separated therefrom means to move the separated end of each sheet downwardly means to move the downwardly extending end portion'of each sheet in a lateral direction towards the side of the stack from which the remaining edge of the sheets is nally separated and means to withdraw each sheet laterally as it is completely separated from the stack.

MYRON B. BUSHNELL. 

